Sponsored
Redfour5
Well-Known Member
Well, I received mine just waiting to put together. I got the same set up as you but at below 1200 bucks as on January 1st of this year, one day only, they had a 20% off sale. AND, I only got the drawer for the 40% side. I did find an install video online from SHW with a pretty detailed construction piece including anticipating a few of the things you noted as problematic.
As far as the looks, logo's etc, I don't care as I'm putting two inches of memory foam back there as the whole thing is for the dogs to have some room in the back and to improve storage options as Gladiators are essentially devoid of storage, when you got dogs.
Right now I have a temporary solution with an Amazon hard bottom back seat cover thing. It actually works a bit better than I expected. https://www.amazon.com/URPOWER-Wate...=1717177327&sprefix=back+seat+,aps,206&sr=8-8
But, I'm looking forward to putting it in... I got a great deal...
I ended up going with SHW for the drawer for dog leads, bowl, food etc easy access while still having the other side for off road items like, winch control, straps etc, but when I was able to get 20% off on that one day, that tipped me over the edge for going with SHW. I may cut a "door" on the 60% side if possible to access storage from the side. I'll do some pics and do a post once I get it all done. The temp thing works well enough I'm not hurrying with all the spring yard, garden stuff now. Oh, and here in MT it was 28 degrees last night (forecast 40) so we are still getting ready for spring. It's a bear... Eighteen inches of snow in Bozeman about a week ago... Winter won't let go...and starts again as early as October... So, all you thinking of moving here pay attention, and we are full. But come visit and bring your money...
As far as the looks, logo's etc, I don't care as I'm putting two inches of memory foam back there as the whole thing is for the dogs to have some room in the back and to improve storage options as Gladiators are essentially devoid of storage, when you got dogs.
Right now I have a temporary solution with an Amazon hard bottom back seat cover thing. It actually works a bit better than I expected. https://www.amazon.com/URPOWER-Wate...=1717177327&sprefix=back+seat+,aps,206&sr=8-8
But, I'm looking forward to putting it in... I got a great deal...
I ended up going with SHW for the drawer for dog leads, bowl, food etc easy access while still having the other side for off road items like, winch control, straps etc, but when I was able to get 20% off on that one day, that tipped me over the edge for going with SHW. I may cut a "door" on the 60% side if possible to access storage from the side. I'll do some pics and do a post once I get it all done. The temp thing works well enough I'm not hurrying with all the spring yard, garden stuff now. Oh, and here in MT it was 28 degrees last night (forecast 40) so we are still getting ready for spring. It's a bear... Eighteen inches of snow in Bozeman about a week ago... Winter won't let go...and starts again as early as October... So, all you thinking of moving here pay attention, and we are full. But come visit and bring your money...
Redfour5
Well-Known Member
OH, a PS... There is another poster on here who had a great solution to getting the door to open wider using velcro extender pieces, looks almost OEM. I can't find it however at the moment...
T-Rock
Well-Known Member
looking at the cost of the whole system, along with the issues you had, I would definitely go with goose gear. Thanks for the full story and photos!.I received and installed my SHW seat delete about 6 weeks ago and I'm mostly happy with it so far. I opted to get the passenger (60%) and driver (40%) deletes, both with the drawer option. I did not get their "Upper Decker" or the middle box.
The good:
• Assembly is straight forward and quick if you have the assembly instructions
• Once assembled the boxes are quite sturdy, look sharp, and fit well in the back of my '23 Mojave.
• The deck surface is a high pressure laminate (not a sprayed-on coating) and appears to be very durable so far.
• The lockable drawers are easy to access, spacious, and mounted on roller slides.
• There's TONS of storage under the deck. I've got a crapload of recovery gear, tool rolls, trailer hitch, tie-down straps, camping chairs, etc under there and there's still plenty of space left.
• It fits around my factory subwoofer housing and retains access to the back wall storage pockets.
• The whole assembly is made from super-lightweight marine plywood (sorry, I didn't weigh it prior to installation).
The bad:
• There were zero instructions included with the kit at all. I wound up assembling the whole thing by trial and error... at night, single-handed, while staring at photos on the SHW website. Most, but not all, of the parts were labeled (with decals that were very difficult to remove), but even with knowing which parts were for the driver & passenger sides it felt like assembling a 3-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Also, knowing the correct assembly order turns out to be important. It took me ~2hrs to put the two boxes together, plus another hour to install the drawer slides the next day. I did email the company and the owner, Wes, was quick to respond . He was apologetic, helpful, and he directed me to the download link for the instructions, but by then I'd already figured it out.
• On my kit one side had the pilot holes for the drawer slide screws drilled in the wrong locations, and the other side there were no holes for the slides at all. This made it challenging to figure out how the slides were supposed to be oriented, and fastened. I called SHW, left a message, and Wes promptly called me back and explained that their drawer slide manufacturer had changed their design without informing him and that several other customers had encountered the same thing. As for the part with no holes; apparently that one was intended for a seat delete without drawers. We had a fiendly chat and Wes gave me the option of doing the slide mounting myself or he was willing to send me the correct parts. For the sake of expediency I opted to do it myself and, with some patience & careful measuring, it went very well. SHW definitely has great customer service... but their quality control leaves a lot to be desired.
• The top access hatches don't sit in the box properly; they fit loosely in their pockets and also sit about ⅛" sub-flush with the top deck. I have a plan to fix this, but the fact that there's a mis-match reeks of low quality
• The top access hatches are not lockable and have a hole in the top so that they can be lifted out with one finger. Since the "lockable" drawer area is directly below the unlocked hatches it pretty much eliminates any security the drawer latches provide. I have a plan to screw the hatches in place (from the inside) to prevent them from being removed by any would-be bad guys. It'd be very nice if those hatches were lockable with the same key as the drawers.
• There is no finish/paint/stain on any of the exposed edges of the wood. Wes explained that the wood is marine ply and impervious to water. IMO this is a major oversight with regard to appearance, feel, and durability. I'll be applying a black polyurethane stain to all of the exposed wood.
• The engraved SHW logo is hideous. It's big, right inside the doorway on both sides, all cut with a ¼" ball-end router bit, and is about 3/16" deep. It really should have been shallower and done with an engraving bit... or better yet delete the logos altogether. I'll probably wind up filling the engraved pockets with some black epoxy to prevent stuff from snagging on the sharp edges of the HPL. It's the kind of thing that could easily tear open a tent or sleeping bag.
• The thin steel angle brackets provided to secure the boxes to the floor aren't properly sized & drilled to match the seat bolt holes. I had to do some re-drilling to make them line up. The boxes probably won't move while off-roading, but I'm concerned about their security in the event of an accident. I'll be adding some additional mounting brackets to ensure that these things stay put no matter what.
• SHW supplies short nylon straps to extend the Jeep's existing door limit straps. They're okay, but could be made from a nicer piece of webbing sewn into a loop. They also provide a cheap-o steel keyring to connect the two pieces of webbing together, however that ring distorted badly the very first time I opened the JT's door. I replaced the keyring with a ⅛" stainless steel quick-link, problem solved. Of course the factory limit stops need to be disconnected/removed.
• While the overall fit of the delete into the rear seat space is good, the finish quality of the individual routed parts is mediocre. All of the edges are routed, but they're not sanded smooth.
• The deck height is tall due to the space required for the generously sized drawers. I keep my Dometic fridge in the back seat and I'm now not able to open the lid beyond ~80º. This isn't a deal breaker but it means that accessing the fridge is now a 2-handed job.
• The deck surface is HPL laminate type material, so it's durable, but also very slippery. I ordered up a sheet of rubber gym floor matting that I'll cut to fit the deck and make openings to allow access to the hatches.
• I waited exactly 12 weeks from the time I placed the order until it arrived, which is right about what SHW said their lead time would be... but to me that felt like a long time to wait.
• On SHW's website it says that they'll send tracking information via email, there will be a phone call to schedule delivery, and a follow up phone call to ensure satisfaction. Unfortunately, none of that ever happened.
• At around $1,550 delivered, this setup isn't cheap. That's ~$100 less than the competition's "high platform" seat delete and ~$400 more than their standard one. Granted SHW is the only brand that has storage drawers, but for that price all of these little issues should be sorted out.
Summary:
Like I said, I do like the functionality, appearance, and drawers of the SHW seat delete. Once I'm done with all of the do-it-myself fixes it will be a great addition to my JT. I'm also super impressed and appreciative of Wes' willingness to send me the instructions and talk me through the assembly modifications.
I'd rate the SHW seat delete system a 2.5 out of 5 stars. It's nice, maybe even very nice. However if I had to do it over again I think I'd opt for the Goose Gear seat delete instead.
-Mark
Sponsored
TinkeringTurtle
Member
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2023
- Threads
- 1
- Messages
- 22
- Reaction score
- 23
- Location
- Dahlonega, GA, USA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2023 Jeep Gladiator Mojave
Thanks for this review! I almost bought this seat delete last December before I realized they changed the finish. Like yourself, I strongly dislike the change to laminate with exposed plywood and a big logo to collect dirt. Smells like a cutting a corner to reduce cost and speed up manufacturing. Love the drawer slide though.
OP
OP
msiminoff
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Mark
- Joined
- Nov 28, 2023
- Threads
- 7
- Messages
- 46
- Reaction score
- 152
- Location
- Silicon Valley, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 2023 Gladiator Mojave
- Build Thread
- Link
- Occupation
- Mechanical Engineer/Fabricator
- Thread starter
- #37
Thank you for your participation here Wes!
You and your team have been great communicators since I first reached out in January, and your dedication to continued product improvement is admirable... this stuff can't be said about most manufacturers these days.
Your seat delete kits are very good and with some minor tweaks could easily become the best on the market. However, as I said in my initial post; at this price point it's reasonable to expect that the little issues I've encountered would be ironed out.
Wishing you and SHW great success.
-Mark
Wgharv0
Member
If you find this please share it. As of last night after seeing the pic of the OPs connecting ring, I have already thrown away all of our stock we have and ordered in some beefier rings. That being said, if there is a better solution I am all for it!
-Wes
Wgharv0
Member
Believe it or not, it is quite the opposite. We had several issues with bed liner. If any moisture was trapped inside the wood the bedliner would bubble. We could never spray 2 pieces the same so replacement parts wouldn't match. The thickness also varied so getting tolerances correct were a pain in the but. We pay more than double for the current product, but it gets us a consistent look every time and with each new batch we can use a caliper to measure the thickness and know that it is consistent and run our code. I made this move to give a better more consistent product to the customer. We leave the edges sanded smooth but raw. They can be stained if the customer doesn't like the two tone look, but most customers seem to prefer it. IF you notice a lot of other manufacturers have also started changing to similar products to this since we changed. Even Goose Gear is offering products like this now. It is truly a better product in every way, the only down side is some people don't like the asthetics.
Sponsored
Wgharv0
Member
This is what it is all about. We are all one community here. As I type this I am actually sitting in the Red River Gorge camping for the weekend. I hate that you had several issues, but we are constantly working to improve. Even since your order we have dropped our lead times down to 6 weeks and still dropping. My goal is getting down to 2weeks with improved quality. There have been bumps along the way and I am sure there will be more but all I can do is continue to improve. Heck, just from this one thread i have made to changes since last night. I printed up a stack of QR codes with links to the instruction to include in every box incase customers don't receive the automated email, and I have thrown out all of the connecting rings and ordered ones similar to what you have in your picture. We will continue to improve every day! If you ever need anything with your system feel free to call me, I think you have my direct number if I remember correctly. Also, I am not sure why your lids are 1/8" low, but if you want to reach out to me outside of here we can get some measurements from you and cut you new ones that will fit the way they are supposed to.
Redfour5
Well-Known Member
It was a thread "seat delete again" read the whole thread he goes into detail... https://www.jeepgladiatorforum.com/forum/threads/seat-delete-again.75673/post-1235480
chaosjake
Well-Known Member
I hear you. My lab mix Duke used a ramp in my old Tacoma from the time he was about 10, and then we got the stairs because the ramp was too wide for the JT's door sill. After Duke passed in December, we adopted an older gentleman in April. His new name is Huckleberry, and he's probably about 9 years old. Only took about 3 trips in the Jeep to teach an old dog this new trick, and now he goes up and down the stairs like a pro.
The exact product I bought isn't available on Amazon now, but this appears to be identical: https://a.co/d/hJMQgNC
HooliganActual
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Robert
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2020
- Threads
- 9
- Messages
- 1,410
- Reaction score
- 3,601
- Location
- 10 miles from the Sun
- Vehicle(s)
- 2020 Gladiator Rubicon
- Occupation
- Retired
Thx Redour5
Yeah, I was the one who posted my simple velcro strap solution. I've been using it for a few years this way and it has worked pretty well. Personally I think it is a better solution than those little D shackles, especially since it means you don't have a little metal piece banging around in the door surround dinging the paint, etc.
Here's a pic of the little strap:
Sponsored
